Page 9 of Dangerous Secret

“Perfect. I’ll check in, horn in on some golf games. You’d be surprised at what you can learn playing a few rounds with the locals.”

Grayson didn’t doubt it.

“Now that we have our assignments, let’s grab some dinner,” Cooper said. “Know of a beach bar that has good beer and burgers?”

“I sure do.”

Later that night, after a shower, Grayson got in bed with his laptop. It didn’t take long to find the engagement announcement of Harlow Grainger to Anthony Pressley. He’d assumed that she hadn’t dressed like someone’s great-grandmother back then, but he was stunned at seeing her photo.

“Wow,” he murmured. Her honey-blond hair was shoulder length, the soft curls framing her face. And what a face. Smoky eye shadow highlighted her distinctive turquoise-blue eyes, drawing attention to them. Creamy skin, high cheekbones and full pink lips made for a beautiful woman. In the photo, she wore an off-the-shoulder pale blue dress that fit her perfectly and showed off her figure.

He studied Anthony Pressley. He was what women called tall, dark and handsome. He wore an expensive suit, and a pale blue handkerchief that matched Harlow’s dress was tucked into the pocket. It was the man’s eyes that Grayson was most interested in. Where love was shining from Harlow’s eyes as she looked up at her fiancé with a soft smile on her face, Grayson didn’t see the same from Pressley.

“You got yourself a trophy wife, didn’t you?” he said to the photo. There was something cold and calculated about the man, and Grayson doubted that Pressley had the capability to love any woman.

The next photo he found was of their wedding, and again, Harlow was stunning. Her gown was simple and classy, a strapless, maybe satin body-hugging dress. There were no beads or crystals on it, no fancy ribbons or other adornments. It took a back seat to the woman wearing it, and Grayson smiled, knowing that was exactly what she’d intended.

As in her engagement photo, she was all soft smiles and hearts in her eyes for her new husband. Grayson wished he could tell that girl to run away as fast as she could. He’d downloaded the security footage from their building’s inside camera, and he found the feed of her riding up in the elevator. Seeing the difference in her from then and now was heartbreaking.

He saved the engagement and wedding photos to the file he’d created, then continued his search. There were pictures of the couple at numerous galas and charity events. The most noticeable thing as he progressed through the yearsof their life together was the change taking place in Harlow. The light in her eyes dimmed and the smiles faded. He was able to follow the change in her appearance from that of a stunning, well-dressed woman to that of a woman who was using clothes and no makeup to hide from the world. It was one of the saddest things he’d ever seen.

As he sent her an email, he crushed the thought that he was looking forward to seeing her again, granny dress and all.

Chapter 4

When Harlow turned into the parking lot of her apartment complex, Anthony’s BMW XM was parked in her assigned space. She gritted her teeth as she drove several buildings down to the visitor parking. She’d asked him repeatedly not to park in her space, but did he care about what she wanted?

It wasn’t good that he was here, and she considered driving right out of the complex and going somewhere. Anywhere he wasn’t. But that would only delay dealing with him. Remembering Grayson’s advice to record her conversations with Anthony, she set her phone to Record, then held it in her hand, the face hidden against her palm. She walked as slowly as possible, but she still ended up next to his car sooner than she was ready.

His car windows were down, and he was texting someone…probably his mistress. Not that she cared, she just wanted him to say why he was bothering her and then be on his way. He knew she was waiting because he’d glanced at her, but he continued to ignore her as he kept his attention on his phone. She knew him well, and knew his intention was to teach her a lesson.

She wanted to walk away, go inside her apartment and lock the door against him. He’d just follow her, though, and demand that she let him in. Not happening. A few moreminutes passed, and heat burned her neck as her blood pressure rose. She was tired of his games, so very tired.

Screw it.She wasn’t standing here a second longer. As if he realized he’d pushed her to her limit, he set his phone on the dash, then stepped out of the car. There’d been a time when she’d thought he was the handsomest man she’d ever seen, but all she saw now was a spoiled, selfish man who thought he was entitled to take whatever he wanted no matter who it hurt.

There were things she hadn’t told Grayson. Things that could ruin the Pressley family. It wasn’t what she wanted to do, but Anthony was going to push her into doing just that. They were dangerous secrets, and she didn’t know quite what to do with them. One reason she’d turned to The Phoenix Three.

“I’ve been waiting for an hour,” Anthony said. “Where were you?”

None of your business.But if she said that, he’d make it his business to find out where she was. And there was no way he’d sat for an hour waiting for her, not Anthony. “I had some errands to run. What do you want, Anthony?”

“You need to come back to work.”

That meant Sherri, whom he’d promoted to director of events because she was young and pretty, never mind that she wasn’t qualified, was messing things up. Harlow could have told him that would happen, not that she’d felt like bothering. She’d resigned via email the day after catching him kissing the nanny, so what happened at Pressley Resort and Golf Club was of no concern to her.

“I’ll come back if you promote me to vice president of marketing, retail merchandise and events.” Had she missed anything she could attach to that title? She couldn’t thinkof anything, so she named her acceptable salary. “At four hundred thousand a year.”

There was no way they’d give her that title or pay her that much, and even if they did, she was not now or ever coming back to work for the Pressley family. And look at her! She’d never stood up to him before. It felt freaking good.

He sneered. “Have you lost your mind?”

“I did once. When I married you.” Done with this conversation, she turned to leave.

He grabbed her arm, digging his fingers into her skin. “We’re not done here.”

“Says you, but I don’t agree. Get your hand off me.”

“I should have never agreed to the divorce. I only did to teach you a lesson, but you’ve had your little spat. It’s time to come home where you belong.”

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